Kar And Neko Introduction
by xRandom101
Summary: This is a short story detailing the introduction of 2 new characters I thought of. Unfinished.
1. Day 1

Location: Just North of Gretian Pass, Outside Brokall Village  
Time: Year XXXX, Late Fall, Early Winter (October or there about.) Mid-Morning

**Day One**  
Kar took one last look back, noting how the sun was now 'full' above the mountains. A few fond memories flooded his mind and a glaze fell over his eyes. Both were quickly shed when a gust of wind swept through the quiet gateway, leaving behind a faint creaking of a small, worn down metal fence. Kar buttoned up his coat and put his hands in his pockets. It couldn't be heard, but he let out a very faint "Goodbye", the only noticeable part about it being the puff of white mist let out when he spoke. It was going to be a long trek, especially solo.

Few men had the nerve to attempt Gretian Pass during the winter months, and with it approaching, the last of the 'travelers' have already returned to the village, or are at least on their way. The route wasn't so much grueling as it was long. A week minimum to cross and that was for the experienced and older men. During the winter months, the winds could be quite fierce and snow could accumulate at an inch an hour, lasting a whole day, if not longer. There were a few small shelters along the way, they were for a quick rest up and a solid nights sleep. This late in the year, there weren't going to be too many rations left inside the rest stops.

Kar knew all this, and with a long sigh and a longer first step, he was on his way. He wasn't taking very many supplies with him, just a few scraps he stored in his coat.. He'd made the trip before, crossing the pass with the older men, as was tradition, but never alone. It was nearly unheard of, a 'child' going alone, when even grown men wouldn't? The village would have been in an uproar, had he told more of them that he was leaving. As was village rule, when a boy reached 18, he was officially a man. His first act as a man was to leave his village. It was five years now, since he and a few other village boys were led through the pass and to the trade village on the other side of the mountains. He'd recently heard, from some men returning to village, that local jewelry and clothing were selling high at the market, so he gathered what he could to make some money.

The first step was taking longer than he anticipated. He wasn't sure if he was nervous or excited. To an outside observer, it would appear neither. He keeps a cold exterior, always has. This trek wasn't going to help matters, being alone with only his thoughts for a week. He particularly liked that fact; he enjoyed his own company best. Without realizing it, he had walked 100 yards from the village and was now in the pass. It wasn't a very good passageway, but was the only one available. The village was isolated, just off a frozen lake, frozen all but 3 months a year, and hidden in the mountains. The villagers had very little to say about what lay beyond the mountains, all but here-say and rumors. None of that mattered to Kar; he just wanted to leave the village.

A half day had passed and Kar paid no mind to the sun's position. He knew the first stop was less than a day's walk away. A few of the more rowdy village boys would sneak off and stay there during the summer months, much to their mother's dismay. Kar wasn't one of them; he never was 'one of them'. He preferred a simple existence, keeping to himself. This was only because he was planning on leaving the village since he was 13. His first outing, first time outside the village walls and first time seeing people he didn't know by name. It may have been the first and only time in his short life he was shocked and amazed. The trade village wasn't very busy, but he loved it. People exchanging goods, carrying on conversations that weren't about village matters and the 'free spirit' feel he got from everyone he met. Before that, he was a normal village kid. Afterward however, he was always quietly planning his escape.

It must have been a few more hours, the sun was beginning to set and he finally noticed a small cabin in the distance. A small smirk crept up his face, the first in a long time. It almost felt alien and uncomfortable, but he was happy nonetheless. This signaled his first step, one day down, a few more to go, and he was gone for good. He approached it just as the sun hid behind the peaks. A day was shorter in the mountains, with them being so tall, they blocked out the suns light earlier in the day. He was in luck, the cabin wasn't buried in and there was a supply of wood still inside. The village kept the first few cabins stocked with dry wood, so travelers could stay warm, and the trade village was supposed to do the same with the last few. There wasn't any food inside, but he was fine with that, he had no appetite; all he wanted was to sleep the night away and continue in the morning. After starting a small fire in the fireplace, he fell asleep. His dreams of leaving the village kept him warmer than the fire did.


	2. Day 2

**Day Two**  
The next morning he woke early, surprised to see that light wasn't very present yet. He was excited even more now than before, he had a whole day ahead of him to walk in the snow. He actually liked it, being alone taking long walks in deep snow, with a cold breeze blowing snow funnels around. He often imagined if it would be similar in the desert, just much hotter. Hot it was not, not this morning. The fire had all but dwindled and only a few embers were left, slowly losing their red, fading out of existence. He surprised himself at how long he just sat and watched the embers cool, snapping out of his day dream like state with a growl of his stomach. Yesterday's journey caught up with him and he was a bit hungry this morning.

After putting his coat back on, or his temporary blanket as it was, he walked to the door of the cabin. Upon opening, a fresh pile of snow that was drifted up onto the outer wall fell in. It wasn't very deep, but did make for a startle, as Kar wasn't wearing his shoes and now had cold feet. He took out a small plastic cup, of which he traded for with a traveler a while back, and filled it with snow before hurrying back inside and closing the door behind him. He rushed over to the fireplace and restarted a fire. His socks were hanging over the mantle, above the fire all night to dry off, so he put them on to warm up his feet. He placed the cup close enough to the fire to melt the snow, even warm it a bit but not melt the plastic. After a few minutes, the water was warm and he took out a small piece of bread and tore off a chunk. This was his breakfast, warm water and leftover bread.

After breakfast, Kar got prepared to leave. He grabbed some snow from the recent pile made and tossed it into the fireplace, dousing the fire. And with that, he buttoned up his coat and headed out for the day, just as the sun was peering over the mountain tops. The day seemed to be looking like a good one, few clouds out and not very windy. Kar took in and let out a deep breath, watching the puff of air slowly sail away. It was an old habit, and easy way to tell wind direction when it was cold out. Putting his hands in his pocket and lowering his head into his chest, he set off, taking careful steps on the newly fallen snow. It was a bit more than a full days worth of sunlight to the next cabin.

After a few hours had passed, and the sun was beaming down, Kar was getting a little hot. It was a bad thing to be hot during the winter time. Your sweat could freeze and in an instant you could go from hot to hypothermia.. He decided to unbutton his coat and take a rest for a bit. He'd been walking for nearly a day and a half now, and his legs were beginning to sore. He found an outcropping of rocks and decided to rest up there, He took this moment as a respite and enjoyed the view of wandering clouds. He took notice when he saw a few birds circling in the distance, wondering what they were doing. After a short while, he stood up, stretched out his arms and re-buttoned his coat. He was comfortably cooled down now, and decided to get going.

His eyes kept on the birds, as he watched them, circling in formation. There were 3, likely scavenger, and were waiting on a small animal to die and getting to it before it had time to freeze. They appeared to be nearing him, but in fact, he had been getting closer to them. The day was slowly wrapping up, and the birds would likely be heading off to a nest or alcove for the night, leaving the 'prey' unaccounted for until morning.

It wasn't more than an hour later that the night began setting in, the birds had left shortly before and Kar put himself in the right mindset for a half nights walk through the snow. When the sun took its last bit of light with it as it dropped out of sight, the temperature seemed to go with it. A chill ran through Kar's body and he had a faint shiver about him now. The moon was bright, as usual, but was only half full. Kar was never one to be afraid of the dark, but a night's hike through a mountain pass was surely something to be taken into deep consideration.

All Kar had were his thoughts to keep him company. He thought of what his family and friends would be doing, and how the village would be reacting with his departure. Or would they? He wasn't anyone special, just a normal kid. Quiet. Disliked. Nobody probably even noticed he was missing. He wasn't given a job assignment yet and wasn't an important part of the village, nobody likely cared that he was gone.

Kar stopped. Eyes widened. He heard a noise, and it didn't seem very far off. There weren't too many predators in the mountains, as there wasn't much prey to be found, so what did he hear? This was no time for him to be stopping; he had to be nearing the cabin, and needed the rest and warmth it offered. The moon was getting to be about half way into the sky, and Kar could see a familial 'curve' in the pass before him, which was just before the cabin. Again, he stopped, hearing the noise. It was louder this time, but familiar .... somehow recognizable. He kept going, and before long, found the darkened cabin, a little unwary as this now told him the noise wasn't another person in the cabin. As with the night before, Kar took a few pieces of wood and started a small fire before heading to sleep. The night was going to be a short one, and he needed all the sleep he could get.


	3. Day 3

**Day Three**  
Kar awoke to a most odd sensation, it felt like semi-rough sand paper, slightly wet, rubbing against his cheek. This wasn't a most dissatisfying feeling, but unnerving none the less. He was yet to open his eyes when he heard a noise. Oddly enough, it sounded like the noise he heard last night, only softer and gentler. He recognized it this time, a cat. Now his mind filled in the blanks, and he realized it was a cat's tongue licking his face. Still eyes closed, his face twisted into a puzzled look. A thought passed through his mind, 'The cat must have been what the birds were circling.' He resigned himself to opening his eyes.

There on his chest, sat a cat, with a ... grin? Kar's eyes widened, which in turn allowed him to notice the other thing on his chest, crumbs. A new look on Kar's face, this one asking the question that ran through his mind, 'No, you didn't, did you?' Kar closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before reaching into his coat pocket, and pulling out nothing. He let out the deep breath, just as the cat let out a quiet 'meow'. He re-opened his eyes, and the cat moved closer to his face and again began licking his cheek.

"You ... ", Kar coughed a bit, it's been a few days and he hadn't said anything, his throat was dry. "You want more, huh? Well, sorry fella, that was all I had. Doubt there is anything here to eat, I'm sure you've already had your pick." Kar motioned his head asking the cat to move, and to wonder, the cat did. "Pretty smart cat." Kar sat up and swung his coat around, both tossing of the crumbs and putting it on at the same time. "What's your name little fellow?" The cat gave Kar a puzzled look, tilted its head, and let out another 'meow'. "Uhh, sorry little guy, don't speak cat. I know, I'll call you Neko. That's the ancient word for cat where I come from. You like that?" Again, the cat turned its head and meowed. "Then it's settled, your new name is Neko." Kar stood up, noticed the fire was out and put on his socks and shoes. Heading to the door he turned and gave Neko a look saying 'Coming with?' Neko seemed to oblige, he walked over to Kar's legs, looked at the door, and meowed. "Perfect answer."

Outside, Kar looked up and around for the birds, the sun was up a bit but the birds weren't in the area. "Guess you solved all your problems. You ate my food and didn't become theirs. Well anyway, I can go a few more days without food. We should get moving, the cave-way is next, we should hit it by nightfall, and we can take shelter there. The winds were stronger today, and the sky was littered with clouds. There was a high chance for snowfall today.

And without surprise, snow did fall. A lot of it in fact. It was a storm front, likely moving toward the village he just left a few days earlier. That was bad news, not for the village, but for Kar and Neko. The wind was coming at them, directly from where they were headed. Neko was no slouch and was keeping pace with Kar. Both were determined to not let the storm slow them down. Their next destination was where the path got its official name, Gretian Pass. Two distinct mountain ranges were colliding, and over the years, have caused a natural, though unstable, passageway. Kar's ancestors took this passageway to form their village, now he, all these years later, was going against their set in path.

The storm had kicked up and Kar had taken a liking to Neko, seeing as how he could weather the weather. To show his gratitude, and to show he wasn't angry, he picked Neko up and carried him tucked in his arms. Kar wasn't without compassion. In fact, the opposite could be said. Kar had taken a view in life early on, one that consisted of a sole line of proverb passed down the ages in his village. **"All things, man made or natural, are, without a doubt, connected."** This had become his silent motto.

Kar could see, through the blurry, snow covered path ahead, that they were getting close. He was lucky, a storm like this is bad, and getting caught in one is worse. If it had been on the other side of the pass, where there is no cabin or safe haven for two days, it would have been disastrous. It wasn't more than another hour and they had reached the entrance to Gretian Pass. The snow didn't reach them and the wind wasn't too bad once deep enough in. It was however, dark. The sun, which had a bit of light left to cast on this part of the world, was no longer visible and shed no path into the darkness. This would be their resting place for the night. During the day, when the sun was a bit higher in the sky, they would get a better view of their surroundings, And it was a longer walk than it took to through the pass than it was to get to, but took less time, seeing as how they didn't have to fight through feet of snow to walk.

Once inside, Kar let Neko out of his coat. Kar looked around and found a flat spot to sleep on. They were out of the wind and snow, but not the cold, this would be an uncomfortable night. Kar decided to keep his jacket on tonight, rather than use it as a blanket. After getting comfortable, well, as comfortable as he could get, he motioned for Neko to join him. Neko snuggled up and under Kar's arms, which would be a rather warm spot for the night for him. "Were staying here for the night. You be a big bad guard cat and protect us from any creatures tonight, ok?" This must have been totally lost on Neko, seeing as how he returned to his habit and tilted his head with a 'meow'. "Perfect answer."


	4. Day 4

**Day Four**

That wasn't a very comfortable night, to say the least. Having to sleep on the cold, unforgiving ground left Kar sore this morning. Neko, on the other hand, appeared cheery and full of life. Neko was accustomed to sleeping on hard surfaces, and last night, he even got to stay warm, tucked up against Kar. The two differences were apparent, with Kar moving slowly with stiff arms and back, and Neko moving rather quickly, jumping around and scouting the area. Kar gave Neko a look, one saying 'What's so great about this morning?', and in turn, Neko gave Kar a look saying, 'Meow'. Kar could all but close his eyes. Well, that and make noises as he pulled himself off the ground.

The sun was apparently up, hardly noticeable in the pass. Only certain areas had a shaft of light come down, which dimly lit a path for them. Kar knew the path through would take another day, and he was somewhat hungry this morning. He gave Neko a new look, finally acknowledging the fact that Neko ate all the food. Kar let out a sigh and said, "Can't be helped, all we can do is walk the hunger off. Only a few more days and we are there." Neko gave another 'Meow' as Kar walked passed, going in the opposite direction, back towards the way they came. The 'Meow' wasn't lost on Kar, and he turned to Neko, "What? I just woke up and need to use the restroom. And I'm thirsty and the snow is this way." Neko followed suit and tagged along.

Today, Neko didn't have the luxury of being carried and had to walk the whole way, just as Kar was doing. Neko didn't seem to mind, as he kept a cheerful appearance and was running around Kar and on rocks and checking out moss and anything else that could be found. Kar was amused, he liked seeing Neko run around, and it at least kept his mind off his stomach. Today's walk was much easier than previous ones. Little to no wind, cold but not freezing and best of all, no snow to walk through. They made good time and reached the exit before sundown.

Tonight sleep was going to be as rough as last nights, but at least they got to sit and rest before they had to fall asleep tonight. This gave Kar and Neko some time to play. Kar found a little rock and tossed it towards Neko, who in turn, nudged it back to Kar. Again, Kar tossed the rock, this time, Neko was batting it around on the ground, much like he would with a mouse. It had become a little hunting game for Neko, as he was now pouncing and whacking the rock. This kept them busy for the last hour or so of daylight. Like last night, Neko snuggled up into Kar's coat and they fell asleep, huddled together for warmth.


End file.
